New 'Largest Christmas Tree' takes root

WILMINGTON -- A new live oak tree has been planted at Legion Stadium in hopes that it will become a major focus of Wilmington's holiday spirit.

Old-timers remember the World's Largest Living Christmas Tree, a live oak tree selected in 1928 by two schoolchildren responding to a contest run by then-Town Commissioner J.E.L. “Hi Buddy” Wade, who would later become mayor.

That tree stood 70 or 75 feet high and more than 110 feet wide in Hilton Park, north of downtown. For years it provided a light show that delighted Wilmingtonians young and old. The younger ones might visit Santa, who seemed to reside in a box at the base of the tree.

Alas, the years took their toll. The tree aged and shrank, and its proximity to the Sweeney Water Treatment Plant proved problematic after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks prompted increased security measures.

In 2012, the Wilmington City Council voted to move the city's annual tree-lighting ceremony elsewhere, and the tree was taken down in 2015.

But a group led by Louise McColl, Gene Merritt and Charlie Rivenbark, raised funds and have planted what they hope will become a new World's Largest Living Christmas Tree at Legion Stadium.

The group raised around $22,500 to bring a tree from Florida, after efforts to find a suitable local candidate fell short. Plans call for buying Christmas lights and building a "Santa's house" under the tree.

The tree was planted at the entrance to Legion Stadium on Friday morning. It's 50 feet tall, and the trunk measures 16 inches in diameter.

The group plans to light it for the holiday season next year.

Community Editor Si Cantwell can be reached at Si.Cantwell@StarNewsOnline.com.